But even if these figures are proved to be true, we will still take some convincing before we hand over control to a computer.
Psychologists believe
people are more scared of things not under their direct control, pointing towards the fear of flying, nuclear power and even food preservatives.

'Crash dummy'

Volvo,
current manufacturer of the safest car tested in Europe,
is currently involved in the autonomous project Sartre, testing a "road train" where, on motorways, cars are linked to a head driver and then can relax, read the newspaper or, as Click found out, play a musical instrument.

The car is only 6m behind the one in front, around 0.25 seconds at the speed tested.

I'm not interested in [being] a crash dummy because Google thinks it's a cool idea

Bill Synder, journalist

"Six metres apart when you have to control the car yourself would be uncomfortable," says Eric Chan, chief engineer of Ricardo, the UK company leading the Sartre project.

"You can barely see the lane markings, you can't really see any stretch of road between you and the car in front."

For the current driver, questions have been raised about how comfortable the person in the driving seat would be when they are not doing the driving.

Even some psychologists are worried about the absolute security of having a computer in control.

"The reality of the situation is that driving environments are very complex and they involve all kinds of decisions to be made - from strategic levels to the operational level of collision avoidance," says Dr Hole.

"Human beings have their faults but are extremely good information processors, much better than any machine at hazard protection."

Now the term "computer crash" is being coined to describe what could happen.

The engineering and motor companies are hoping that this is just a matter of time before people warm to the idea.

And projects are keen to point out the number of ways safety is upheld even when a technical failure occurs. For the Sartre project, the system monitors itself and if something even looks like it could happen, distances between cars are lengthened and drivers are warned that they are about to take control.

If anything continues then cars are moved to the hard shoulder and stopped. And Sartre says that it is only one of the ways that a problem like this could be dealt with.

"It's clear that people will have to get used to this new technology," says Chan.

Anyone who gets inside a car and finds out the car is driving will be a little skittish. But they'll get over it

"It changes in a fundamental way your personal relationship with your car. When seat belts were introduced, when airbags were introduced, cruise control, there were a lot of people who were nervous about it.

"Over time, people have got used to them and realised the safety benefits."

Cars on the roads can already park themselves, brake automatically and alert a driver if they are slipping out of a lane.

So it could just be that these things take a little time.

"The first time I drove a car with cruise control, I didn't like it much because the car did its own thing," says Chan.

"After a short time, I now use it very often when on motorways. I've got used to trusting it."

But even beyond the safety concerns, those who love driving are not prepared to start removing their hands from the steering wheel.

"People are less likely to give up control because you just have to look at the market," says Peter Rodger, head of driving standards at the Institute of Advanced Motorists.

"There are 70, 80, 90 car magazines on shop shelves bought by people who like their cars. They actually like the feeling. There is an emotional attachment that comes with controlling a machine."

And despite Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt's hope that "self-driving cars should become the predominant mode of transportation in our lifetime", it could be that even a small risk could be too much for some people to be comfortable removing the driver completely.

What would happen if the technology fails and no person in the car knows how to drive?

"Society will find that very difficult," says Rodger. "We are increasingly a blame culture. When something goes wrong, we look for someone to pin it on.

"Without accountability, drivers are going to find that harder still."

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.